A song for Patrick O'Brian fans

[pegkerr]

I recommend checking out Jed Marum's album Soul of a Wanderer. The first song, "Desolation Island," tells the haunting tale of the wreck of the Waakzaamheid from Patrick O'Brian's novel Desolation Island. It's a lovely work which you can buy by itself as an .mp3, or with the rest of the album. Heard about it on the Irish and Celtic Music podcast. Thanks to marcgunn for the heads up.



Edited to add: Found it on Youtube on Jed Marum's channel, so you listen. Words are below:

DESOLATION ISLAND
© Jed Marum, 2001
aka Leopards Run

My name is Liam Devlin
In Galway I was born
In eighteen hundred seven
To the English crown I was sworn
I sailed with Captain Aubrey
In the prime of his bold career
A terror to all rival trade
Some say a privateer.

With Cockney, Moore and Irish lads
We made a handsome crew
Our ship was the Leopard
And her officers brave and true
Our strength at sea was matched by few
And we made our way without fear
A terror to all rival trade
Some say a privateer.

CHO: and Lo moans the wind
The cold Antarctic wind (repeat)

We were well below the Southern Cross
And bound for Botany Bay
With a score of Irish prisoners
And the bounty sacked on the way
Sail Ho, Sail Ho, the lookout cried
Three miles off to the larboard side
Thats when I feared we'd met our match
The Dutchman, Waakzaamheid
(pronounced, VOX em hide)

CHO

Well we turned and we ran before the wind
In a race straight toward the pole
The Waakzaamheid was thrice our size
And her Captan bold as our own
For four long days we ran from her
til a mountainous seas grew high
That's when I feared we'd met our match
The Dutchman, Waakzaamheid

CHO

The Dutchman within a 100 yards
And let her cannon roar
We'd taken damage fore and aft
Captain Aubrey was wounded sore
But with one blessed shot
We smashed her mast
And the Dutchman rolled hard on her beam
And with all brave hands she sank beneath
The cold Antarctic sea

CHO